Posts Tagged ‘liberals’

If politics and public policy are like grass, the Democratic Party is all about AstroTurf. Yes, the fake grass design for the inside of ballparks is a fitting comparison for the fake grassroots of the Blue Team and one of the primary reasons we have been hammered in elections for the last 20 years.

20 years ago, most rural whites in the Dem Party decided to bounce for the GOP. The remaining Dems lived on the two coasts and in big cities. To me, a winning national political party has a big tent that is tolerant of diverse views. The current GOP seeks to be a ruling class that makes decisions for everyone without everyone being at the decision-making table. The Democrats aren’t much better because they make elitist policy directives in headquarters then spend the election season trying to convince their so-called base to fall in line.

For what it is worth, marketing expert Donald Trump listened to the people and told them he would give them what they wanted—if he can or will is another question. At the end of the day, it’s about jobs, the economy and federal spending.

Grass is like the community in so many ways. If you think about it, grass is one of the most common organisms on earth. In addition to being ornamental, grass secures the top soil. My brother and I cut an acre of lawn grass with a push mower as kids for years. Today, I have to convince the lawn care professional with his 5K zero-turn riding mower that grass should be 3 inches. Long grass has deep roots that stores water and blades that protect roots from the southern sun.

Southern Democrats aren’t cultivating deep, strong roots. Strong grass will fight weeds by consuming nutrients first. Oh, you shouldn’t think your lawn will be nice because you have a fence. Weeds from your neighbors’ yard quickly blow into yours. In other words, we build strong communities together; trash down the street will be your problem if not addressed.

In south Georgia, lawns are plagued by a tall “V” weed with black seeds at the top. Newsflash: that’s not a weed. It’s a grass from Brazil called Bahiagrass that farmers brought to the U.S. for cattle feed. You must know Bahia to fight it and the Southern Democrats must know the community to improve it. As the Bible says, you reap what you sow.

What shall we do? My community should get back to basics; we must reembrace the self-determination of the 1950s. At the end of the day, the government can’t save you from you. In the age of Trump, we should cultivate the community with positive personal actions rather than waiting for the government (local, state or federal) to correct problems of our creation.

We should spend the next year focusing on listening to the people and having frank discussions about the limited role of government. Oh, the liberal elites in the Democratic Party don’t want to hear that. The DNC and those who wanted a different president-elect spent over a billion dollars and got waxed. Van Jones pointed out that most of that money went to rich Ivy League types for media buys and T.V. ads while regular folks were expected to do grassroots for pennies or for free.

The Democrats should be cultivating sod right now. Sod is the rolled top level of grass grown on specialist farms. It’s often genetically engineered for that region to be pest resistant and to spread eventually. If you paid for sod and let your grass grow tall and deep, you spent less money on grass cutting. While strong grass might need cutting ever three weeks, weeds will popup overnight. If you fall on Astroturf, you will get burnt because it’s not natural…not organic. You can ask Hillary Clinton about that. That Donald Trump had a message tailor-made for every area and his people ate it up. You can’t design southern Democrat grassroots if you grew up in the city—the concrete jungle. You must ask the people who they are and what they need…if you have a solution, tell them. If you don’t have a solution, tell them. If their actions are the root of their problems, tell them…carefully.

My organic friends and I have a southern grassroots sod crafted for over a decade and every two years the Dem elite say “no thanks…we got this.” No, what you have is a trash-filled yard over-taken by weeds. They put astro-turf over that mess every other November and wonder why that doesn’t work. They shouldn’t be surprised if ignored rural Moderates start looking elsewhere.

In the rap classic “Fight the Power,” Chuck D said, “Gotta give ‘em what they want…gotta give ‘em what they need.” In this country, what we want isn’t necessarily what we need e.g. slavery, Jim Crow, clear cutting forest, robbing of Indians, child labor, the defense industrial complex, lifetime public assistance, fast food.

It is time for my annual venting blog post about a hodgepodge of subject relating to me being right and the status quo being clearly wrong.

Liberals: Heaven knows the left means well and their general thinking seems rooted in Christ’s Sermon on the Mount. However, long-term assistance can create a segment of the public that is weak—always looking for help from others rather than developing the ability to provide for self. President Reagan was right about that; government is the problem. We need to create a climate where every kid has a fair shot at learning and growing in a career field. Failure wouldn’t be tough luck; it would be the result of being out worked.

Conservatives: My biggest problem with my conservative friends is that their plans for all Americans generally don’t involve all Americans in the discussions. I will admit that much of their core agenda is sound but they want to force feed corrective policies—as if the rest of America is their children. They simply don’t listen to anyone unlike them and that is a big mistake. If they did listen, they would discover that most Black southern voters are more conservative than liberal. Most rural Blacks hate the welfare state created my government and if the leaders of the civil rights movement from the 1950s and 1960s could see us now, they would say this wasn’t the plan.

Conservatives vs. Black nationalists: Are you kidding me! The idiots on right wing radio and Fox News who demonized Rev. Jeremiah Wright blew a great opportunity to improve America. President Obama needs Wright in his corner because Wright and nationalists are throwbacks to those who hate governmental involvement in our daily lives. Uncle Sam isn’t your daddy and surprisingly Clarence Thomas is the man who is most like Wright (pun intended.) I loved the book Justice Thomas wrote about his grandfather’s life skills. Once and for all—the conservative movement should create a relationship with the Black pride movement because these two groups’ messages of personal responsibility are the same.

Hip Hop Culture: While I respect artistic freedom, the current rap culture is detrimental to all youths. For us, rap reflected urban life but those suffering wanted better for their families. Today, “good kids” idolize thugs, pimps, bangers and dealers. When I am on a college campus, I can’t tell the students (budding professionals) from common thugs and strippers. In my day, we call those stupid high heels “come f me” pumps. When women ruin their feet, legs and backs from those shoes, Obamacare shouldn’t cover them because dumb is a preexisting condition.

President Obama’s Vision: While I love President Obama, I need to get Nixon-like for a second and make one thing perfectly clear. Obama vision for what America should be isn’t the reality of what America is. Is that the role of a president—to imagine what we should be and push toward that goal (FDR, Kennedy, Lincoln.) I just feel puzzled sometimes when the president says “we are better than that…we are fair…we are pure hearted.” No brother Obama, “you” are those things while most of us are a mess and a trip. His family raised a wonderful person but some of the things at the top of his agenda have regular folks scratching our heads. But, he is still my guy.

Schemes and Games: Theoretical people like me are often broke while hustlers stay paid with schemes and games. We have hustlers on my street and hustlers on Wall Street. It is now and has always been a dirty game and the simple rule of the game is to get and stay paid. I think most of official Washington today is driven by the desire to stay paid rather than the hope of a better America. Liberals don’t recognize that throwing taxpayers’ money at problems isn’t helping and ultra conservatives don’t realize that the tough boy approach isn’t working.

Silent Majority: I still believe that most Americans are good people who are put-off by drama coming out of Washington and the state houses. Jon Huntsman, Condi Rice and others seem as pure-hearted as me. When we get about the business of having a national effort to improve this great country from the bottom up, you should join us.

I will end this rambling blog post by highlighting the parts of Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power” that we loved in the pol sci department of my black college. Those lyrics are timeless.

Fight the Power–Public Enemy

[Intro]
Yet our best trained, best educated, best equipped, best prepared troops refuse to fight. As a matter of fact, it’s safe to say that they would rather switch than fight.

[Verse 1]
1989 the number another summer (get down)
Sound of the funky drummer
Music hitting your heart cause I know you got soul
(Brothers and sisters, hey)
Listen if you’re missing y’all
Swinging while I’m singingGiving whatcha getting
Knowing what I know
While the Black bands sweatingAnd the rhythm rhymes rolling
Got to give us what we want
Gotta give us what we need
Our freedom of speech is freedom or death
We got to fight the powers that be
Lemme hear you say
Fight the power

“One should not increase, beyond what is necessary, the number of entities required to explain anything.” William of Occam (1285-1349)

“Make things as simple as possible – but no simpler.” Albert Einstein

The simplest solution is often the correct one.

“KISS” Keep It Simple, Stupid

William of Occam was on to something: simpler explanations are better than complicated ones and using the term “razor” to refer to shaving away unnecessary assumptions to get to the simplest explanation is too cool. I should have been doing this years ago.

William of Georgia: Southern moderates would help this nation by openly stating what government shouldn’t do and what people should do. (My government name is actually William Terence)

Is that simple enough? People talk about JFK all the time but fail to remember his classic quote “ask not what this country can do for you, but what you can do for this country.” Heaven knows the Left means well with their efforts to find governmental remedies for every problem in the world. Here’s an idea: have few problems. Heaven knows the Right is also well-intended with their tough love/disciplinarian approach for those in need. However, someone gets fat on their watch also.

When the Right produces Black congressional candidates, they say the same mean-spirited rhetoric as their brethren and it does not play well in my community. Liberal candidates can be equally detrimental with their promises and hopes that government can save us…from us. I listened to every word candidate Obama said and rarely did he give the impression that this presidency would miraculous improve our lives. He spoke of creating conditions favorable for achievement for those ready to focus and work hard. Obama actually sounded like Newt Gingrich but people’s eyes were too gazed over with pure affection to hear his plan. If you want to be like the Obamas, keep your game tight like the Obamas.

The natural dip in the president’s poll numbers reflect the awaking of those new to politic and policy. There won’t be a Ford in every garage because your home is in foreclosure since you tried to buy a 200K house on a 31K salary. Is that any president’s fault or did you sleep in high school econ class.

William of Georgia’s Razor: Change Washington by producing congressional candidates or incumbents who simple encourage people to plan lives that function and prosper with minimum governmental involvement.

Execute home economics…plan families…conserve energy…build a nestegg…stay out of court and jail…diet and exercise to avoid the healthcare system…don’t believe D.C. can help…listen to your elders’ wisdom…trust heaven.